Serena (2014 film)

Serena
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Susanne Bier
Produced by	Ben Cosgrove Mark Cuban Steve Schwartz Paula Mae Schwartz Todd Wagner Nick Wechsler
Written by	Christopher Kyle
Based on	Serena by Ron Rash
Starring	Bradley Cooper Jennifer Lawrence Rhys Ifans Sean Harris Toby Jones
Music by	Johan Söderqvist
Cinematography	Morten Søborg
Edited by	Pernille Bech Christensen Matthew Newman Simon Webb
Production company	2929 Entertainment Chockstone Pictures Nick Wechsler Productions
Distributed by	Magnolia Pictures (United States) StudioCanal (France)
Release dates	October 13, 2014 (2014-10-13) (BFI London Film Festival) November 12, 2014 (2014-11-12) (France) March 27, 2015 (2015-03-27) (United States)
Running time	109 minutes[1]
Country	United States France
Language	English French
Budget	$25–30 million[2]
Box office	$3.9 million[3]

Serena is a 2014 American–French drama film based on the 2008 novel of the same name by American author Ron Rash.^[4] Directed by Susanne Bier, the film stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper as newlyweds running a timber business in 1930s North Carolina.

Plot

In Depression-era North Carolina, George Pemberton is an ambitious timber baron who meets Serena Shaw, a young woman with a sad past. He falls in love with her, and they marry and Serena comes with George to his land. There, she starts taking control of things, dominating George, but still being affectionate towards him. George's business partner, Buchanan feels threatened by her, as she begins to exceed his authority. Things grow worse between George and Buchanan, and Buchanan strikes a deal with the local sheriff, who wants to buy George's land to make a park. George is hurt by Buchanan's betrayal, and Serena convinces George that Buchanan was never his friend. The next day, they both go shooting alone in the forest, and after some snide remarks from Buchanan, George gives in, and shoots him in the chest. Campbell, George's worker, witnesses the murder, but denies it when Sheriff McDowell inquires. The death is ruled an accident. Serena consoles George and justifies his actions. They make love frequently, and soon Serena discovers she is pregnant. George is excited and enthusiastic for a child. He sees his illegitimate son, Jacob, one day, posing with his mother, Rachel, for a picture. He feels responsible for the boy, and since Rachel never asked for anything, he begins giving sums of money in envelopes to her for his child. Serena remains unaware of this, though she does consider Rachel and the baby a threat. One day, an accident occurs in the forest, and Galloway, a mysterious worker who has a complicated friendship with Serena, loses his hand. Serena rushes to help him, and rides a horse. She suffers a miscarriage that night because of excessive exertion, and learns that she can never again bear children. Things continue to grow worse, and Rachel's baby becomes more obvious to Serena. Then, after incidents, she sets out to murder Rachel for vengeance.

^[5][6][7]

Cast

Production

The film was originally to be directed by Darren Aronofsky, with Angelina Jolie as the title character. Susanne Bier replaced Aronofsky and became the new director of the film. Lawrence recommended Bradley Cooper for the project. They had worked together previously on Silver Linings Playbook and they got along so well that they often spoke about working together again in the future. When Lawrence read the script for Serena, she sent a copy to Cooper and asked if he would do it with her. He agreed and Bier cast him as George Pemberton.

This was at the time the third project starring Cooper and Lawrence, following Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, and this was the second time they were playing love interests.

Filming took place in the Czech Republic at Barrandov Studios from March 26 to May 2012.^[2] Bier took more than eighteen months to complete the film, but there were no re-shoots or problems in post-production.^[8] Bier also had to take time away to promote Love Is All You Need.^[9]

Release

The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 13, 2014,^[10] was released in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2014, and France on November 12, 2014.^[11] Magnolia Pictures will distribute the film in the United States. The film was released on all video on demand and digital stores on February 26, 2015, before a limited theatrical run on March 27, 2015.^[12]

Reception

Box office

The film earned £95,000 ($153,310) on its opening weekend in the United Kingdom, debuting at No. 19 at the UK box office.^[13][14] In its second week, the film dropped to finish 34th, grossing £11,645 from 37 screens. The movie ended its run with a total gross of $320,907 (£200,557)

The film made $1 million on video on demand in the United States before its theatrical release.^[15] The movie opened in 59 screens across the United States on March 20, 2015, and earned $100,090 for a 30th-place finish.^[16]

As of November 9, 2014, the film had a theatrical domestic gross of $100,090 and an international theatrical gross of $3,723,317 for a worldwide total of $3,823,407.^[17]

Critical response

Serena has received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has a score of 18% based on 93 reviews with an average rating of 4.3 out of 10. The critical consensus states "Serena unites an impressive array of talent on either side of the cameras – then leaves viewers to wonder how it all went so wrong."^[18] The film also has a score of 35 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 29 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[19]

Andy Lea of Daily Star wrote in a positive review that, "It's another terrific performance from Lawrence, who almost manages to sell Serena's all too quick transformation from steely feminist to crazed femme fatale." Similarly, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised Lawrence, "Lawrence brings her A-game. She is passionate, impetuous and confident, with a tough determination to grab the brass ring that has been presented to her." Guy Lodge of Variety agreed, "The Stanwyck comparisons lavished upon Lawrence's Oscar-winning work in Silver Linings Playbook resurface here; she certainly looks every inch the Golden Age siren with her crimped vanilla locks and array of creamy silken sheaths that, true to vintage Hollywood form, never seem to get sullied in the wild." He added, "The star also makes good on her proven chemistry with Cooper, who acquits himself with stoic intelligence and a variable regional accent in an inscrutable role that, for its occasional flourishes of Clark Gable bravado, is equal parts hero, anti-hero and patsy."

In The Canberra Times, Jake Wilson praised Cooper, arguing, "Cooper once again proves his value as a leading man who approaches his roles like a character actor."^[20] However, he was more nuanced about the cinematography, suggesting it made "the setting slightly abstract, in the manner of her former mentor Lars von Trier – and the storytelling suffers from some sudden transitions and ill-explained twists."^[20] He concluded, "if this is not a perfect film it's an unusually haunting one."^[20]

Writing for the Toronto Star, Peter Howell criticized the film, suggesting the cinematography was "bland, unsteady and lacking in definition."^[21] In the Vancouver Sun, Katherine Monk argued that Bier was "probably trying to make a movie similar in feel to The Piano."^[22] However, she argued that the "whole national park subplot is confusing and blurs the blacks and whites required to generate sympathy, and every character suffers a similarly grey fate."^[22] She concluded, "by the end, we barely like anyone in this smoky landscape, let alone care about what happens to them."^[22] Writing for The Toronto Sun, Bruce Kirland stressed the setting of the Great Depression, suggesting it was, "the rural reflection of the film versions of The Great Gatsby, which are based on the classic 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald."^[23] However, he found the film boring.^[23]

In The Daily Telegraph, Robbie Collin praised Lawrence's acting at the expense of Cooper's, suggesting, "Lawrence comes out of it significantly better than Cooper," adding that she was "effectively Lady Macbeth in jodhpurs and a pussy-bow blouse."^[24] He concluded on a despondent note, writing "all [the film] amounts to is dead wood."^[24] Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter criticised the film, arguing, "it is difficult to believe a single word of it, still less to care about these relentlessly selfish and short-sighted characters."^[25] He praised Lawrence's and Cooper's acting, but suggested the problem lay in "Christopher Kyle's script, a string of jarring cliches and clunky attempts at subtext" and "Johan Soderqvist's cloying, imploring orchestral score."^[25]

In The Irish Times, Donald Clark praised the cinematography as " exquisite," but suggested that Lawrence's performance was "genuinely poor."^[26] He concluded, "Nobody is likely to see the [film]."^[26] Writing for The Independent, Geoffrey Macnab called it "a strangely dour and downbeat affair."^[27] He suggested it was reminiscent of Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate. However, he criticized its "heavy-handed poetic symbolism" and "the guilt and self-loathing that its characters feel."^[27]

References

External links

• Serena at the Internet Movie Database
• Serena at Box Office Mojo
• Serena at Rotten Tomatoes
• Serena at Metacritic